I KID YOU NOT... I almost head-on'ed someone who did this wrong the other day.

I was driving from my condo to my parent's place. I took rt 78 and took the exit off near their town. The speed limit is like 40mph around a bend.

Some a$$hat, and I kid you not, apparently followed the "make a left" directions and made the left UP THE WRONG WAY OF AN EXIT. In other words: 1 lane with me going 40mph one direction (off the highway) and him going probably 30mph in the other (towards the highway). And his braking reaction time really sucked, especially considering he was going UP hill and I was going down.

I. LAID. ON. MY. HORN. AND. JAMMED. THE. BRAKES

Him: Is this the way to rt 78?Me: ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ME? YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAYHim: Chill bro, I'm just following the GPSMe: Chill my a$$, you were about to enter the wrong direction of a major highway, and almost kill my a$$

Now, I've seen some iffy exits/onramps and such but this exit/onramp was NOT one of them. The signs are clear. The WRONG WAY signs are clear. It was a clear day. The exit is HERE, the onramp is very clearly marked to prevent dumb a$$es from doing that.

Yet he was getting pissed at me and kept saying stuff like "The GPS says this is the way" Umm, use common sense. If you have 2 or 3 rows of WRONG WAY / DO NOT ENTER signs the GPS saying it's the right way (which I can't imagine being true) doesn't excuse you.

Again, I've seen some questionable ones... but I NEVER trust the "turn left here" without doing a visual inspection (can I enter here, do the signs say it's OK, etc).

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This comment was edited on Dec 10, 2012, 19:08.

"Space. It seems to go on and on forever. But then you get to the end and a gorilla starts throwing barrels at you." -Fry, Futurama

Proper use of a GPS navigation device can be quite the mystery, apparently. Here it is in a simple and familiar format:

DO NOT:- entrust it with your life- use it as your only source of info on a trip involving an unfamiliar route- assume it will keep working for the duration of your trip- blindly continue on when things don't seem right, hoping for the best- drive into water, onto railroad tracks, off a cliff, etc.- blame the technology for your failings

DO:- doubt its every instruction- PAY ATTENTION to signs and which way you're going- plan ahead and find out at least roughly how to get where you're going BEFORE you start driving- double-check its suggested route(s) against known landmarks, preferably prior to the trip using a regular map view AND satellite view- know how to check its suggested route(s) using its mapping capabilities- attain at least basic familiarity with how GPS and navigation devices work (it's not magic), and what their limitations are- plan for emergencies. what if the GPS suffers catastrophic failure? what if the car breaks down? what if there's no cell or satellite signal? etc.

For example, if I know a vague "this place is x00 miles north-west" and my GPS is taking me north west, I tend to give it the benefit of the doubt. Once or twice, mostly in my older car, I noticed the GPS was taking me to the wrong place and I stopped and corrected accordingly.

So I don't think it's dumb if you don't know where the heck you're going (other than a vague direction) and the GPS is telling you to go into a cruddy area that becomes so bad your wheels get stuck.

On the other hand, the article is somewhat vague as to what happened. Were they directed down some roads that eventually became dirt and thus got their wheels stuck? Were they told to take a right into an open field? Were they told to make a left and drive into a lake? etc.

So, if I was thought I was going to Chester NJ... which depending on how I get there takes me either THROUGH or at least really near the Great Swamp...

And I notice it's driving me through some really small roads in the great swamp...

And eventually into the middle of nowhere... I'd HOPE I'd have enough common sense to say WTF before I got too far away from the main roads. But if I didn't know the area I might take it at its word.

"Space. It seems to go on and on forever. But then you get to the end and a gorilla starts throwing barrels at you." -Fry, Futurama

Apple f'd up again plain and simple. They even fired the guy responsible because apple knows how bad their inhouse app is. Lawsuit,lawsuit, lawsuit--bring these guys down and heck with the blind apple can do know wrong iphone/ipad fanboys.

Quboid wrote on Dec 10, 2012, 15:52:You are implying that paper maps were better, as if people never got lost with one of those.

No, of course not.

Paper maps were better because they forced the user to either have a working knowledge of how they work, or at least be arrogant and ignorant enough to pretend they do. Most would just agree they don't know wtf they're going before venturing out, and ask someone who did, if they didn't fall into either one of those two user groups. The knowledgeable map user wouldn't get lost, and the asshole who's pretending deserves what he gets. GPS just enables people who don't know wtf they're doing at the best of times to have the false sense of security that they do.

Did anybody defending these morons actually RTFA? They were stranded. In the wilderness. Because their GPS app told them to go there. It's not like they took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and ended up in Santa Fe rather than El Paso...

jdreyer, these people don't have a clue what geocoding is; I don't really know what it means in this context (the street address of where you tapped your destination, right?). They put the city into their iPhone, the iPhone told them the route and quite possibly gave the address they expected too.

I think the moral of the story is: when doing something that could endanger your life, maybe double check. Put it in your GPS, look at the route it suggests and then check again with a difference source.

SpectralMeat wrote on Dec 10, 2012, 15:05:I think people should have at the very least have a general idea of where they are going with or without a GPS. If you don't know that your destination is 200 or 300 km away then that is your own fault. People were able to get around before there were any GPS. On the paper map you don't get a blinking point where your current location is. So no I don't feel sorry for the idiots getting lost because they have no clue where they are going the begin with.

You are implying that paper maps were better, as if people never got lost with one of those. I don't think anyone feels particularly sorry for these fools but don't fall into the trap of thinking that the old ways were the best. I'd wager that a lot more people got lost with paper maps than a GPS device. I know I did, I've been sent the wrong way by GPS once, I'm sure I've been unable to even find myself, never mind my destination, in maps many times.

I think people should have at the very least have a general idea of where they are going with or without a GPS. If you don't know that your destination is 200 or 300 km away then that is your own fault. People were able to get around before there were any GPS. On the paper map you don't get a blinking point where your current location is. So no I don't feel sorry for the idiots getting lost because they have no clue where they are going the begin with.

Beamer wrote on Dec 10, 2012, 14:40:We're talking 70kms. It's pretty easy to get sent in the wrong direction long before you have signs for it. And yes, there are signs for the park, but I don't think its unreasonable to think you'll be going through the park.

But don't people check the entire route when they program their GPS? If the geocode doesn't match your destination point isn't that fairly obvious? Especially with all the publicity Apple got with their maps on launch, how on Earth would anyone trust it?

I suppose anyone who died, tragic as that is, would be a Darwin award candidate.

I'll probably get a GPS one of these days - cell phone doesn't count - as I love sitting in traffic about as much as having teeth pulled. I'll always look for sidestreets to get off the major traffic routes. And while they usually work out sometimes yo hit a dead end or end up going way the hell of the way so something that shows quicker alternate routes through sidestreets would be nice.

"During times of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

jacobvandy wrote on Dec 10, 2012, 14:28:Use your head, dude... Obviously you won't have the route memorized if you've never been somewhere, but that's no excuse for "setting and forgetting" your route in a GPS. You still have to pay attention while driving, look at road signs, be aware of your surroundings, etc. so that you don't drive out into the middle of a national park looking for a city. You know what national parks have? SIGNS and BORDERS. You should know if you're crossing into one.

And don't give me that shit about dirt roads... Mildura is a city of 30,000 people, not some podunk border town with a combination general store/post office/city hall in the middle. They have real roads, and most likely a highway leading to or near it. You don't drive out into the wilderness (with little enough gas you're likely to run out soon, on top of that) looking for it. Hopefully these idiots are learning a valuable lesson.

We're talking 70kms. It's pretty easy to get sent in the wrong direction long before you have signs for it. And yes, there are signs for the park, but I don't think its unreasonable to think you'll be going through the park.

I agree with jacob, no excuse for getting lost to the point where you are in a national park and helpless. Its all about preparation and observation of your surroundings, something people should be doing while driving anyway but good luck trying to teach that to a generation who expects their phone to solve every problem and are lost without it.

Use your head, dude... Obviously you won't have the route memorized if you've never been somewhere, but that's no excuse for "setting and forgetting" your route in a GPS. You still have to pay attention while driving, look at road signs, be aware of your surroundings, etc. so that you don't drive out into the middle of a national park looking for a city. You know what national parks have? SIGNS and BORDERS. You should know if you're crossing into one.

And don't give me that shit about dirt roads... Mildura is a city of 30,000 people, not some podunk border town with a combination general store/post office/city hall in the middle. They have real roads, and most likely a highway leading to or near it. You don't drive out into the wilderness (with little enough gas you're likely to run out soon, on top of that) looking for it. Hopefully these idiots are learning a valuable lesson.

jacobvandy wrote on Dec 10, 2012, 13:53:Prime example of why GPS is a convenience feature, not a replacement for knowing where the fuck you're going. This is Michael Scott from The Office driving into a lake because he thought the computer would know best.

If you know where you're going, why use a GPS?

I don't think this is bad at all. Yes, people driving onto railway tracks is bad. Here it's a GPS telling you that something is 70km away from where it actually is. How are people supposed to avoid that? Should they ask someone? People are often wrong, too. Should they use Google maps? Google can be wrong, too. Should they buy paper maps? Those can be wrong, too.

People ending up 70km away from where they want because their navigation method contained flawed data isn't uncommon, and isn't their fault. Saying they should "know where the fuck they are going" isn't exactly helpful.

Prime example of why GPS is a convenience feature, not a replacement for knowing where the fuck you're going. This is Michael Scott from The Office driving into a lake because he thought the computer would know best.

This story reminds me of that old man with the recreation vehicle driving down on the high way, turned on the cruise control (he thought that was auto pilot) and went to the back to make a cup of coffee.

SpectralMeat wrote on Dec 10, 2012, 11:20:People can't be that dumb can they ?

“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.” - H. L. Mencken

"During times of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act."